Bulgaria’s defence chief said on Sunday (9 August) there was no evidence that a drone, which entered the country’s airspace, was deliberately targeting Bulgaria.
Defence chief Emil Eftimov said the unmanned aircraft may have been diverted by electronic warfare after it had entered the country from Romania and exploded near the Trans-Balkan natural gas pipeline on Saturday.
Initial analysis suggests it was a Maya-type decoy drone widely used by Ukrainian forces.
Kyiv denies it targeted Bulgaria. However, Sofia has summoned Ukraine’s ambassador for talks on Monday (10 August).
The Ukrainian drone (UAV) exploded in Bulgaria on 8th August near the Romanian border and the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, prompting increased surveillance and security measures from Bulgarian authorities.
It enterred Bulgarian airspace at 8:10 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and went off in a sunflower field, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said in a statement.
The explosion site is 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) from Bulgaria's compressor station of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, which stretches from Türkiye to Ukraine, and 200 metres from Romania's compressor station.
Radev said the security of strategic sites in the country and surveillance along the Bulgaria-Romania border would be increased.
The unmanned aerial vehicle was not detected earlier in Bulgarian or in Romanian airspace, which confirms that the detection and identification of drones remains a challenge, Radev said. He also noted a delay in the delivery of high-precision radars to the Bulgarian army and promised action.
The UAV was detected by Romanian border police before a loud explosion was heard by a Bulgarian border police patrol near General Toshevo, according to Bulgarian officials.
The explosion caused no casualties, but Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the drone appeared to have been carrying a significant amount of explosives.
“One thing is certain: the drone was carrying a significant amount of explosives, given that it could be heard from a distance and produced such black smoke,” Radev said.
Kyiv has been in close contact with Bulgarian authorities following the incident. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Georgiy Tykhyi clarified that Ukraine was not targeting Bulgaria.
“We can say with certainty that the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not intentionally direct any assets toward Bulgaria,” Tykhyi said.
The incident comes amid a growing number of drone-related incidents in Eastern European countries since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including NATO member states.
Following the explosion, Bulgaria said it would increase surveillance and redeploy troops to help detect drones and strengthen its anti-drone capabilities.
Bulgaria’s foreign minister also summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for a meeting this Monday (10 August) following the incident.
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